


You're Not Alone

by Comrade Lucia (Quantin_of_the_Lethe)



Series: The Adventures of Lucia [9]
Category: Mother 3
Genre: Ableism, Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, Running Away, Schizophrenia, Trans Girl Lucas (Mother 3), Transphobia, Trauma, deadnaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quantin_of_the_Lethe/pseuds/Comrade%20Lucia
Summary: Claus runs off, and Lucia has to confront him.
Series: The Adventures of Lucia [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994812
Kudos: 10





	You're Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> I recently had a change of vision for Lucia's arc so I'm rewriting some of the fics in this series. This was the first.

The day began innocuously enough.

“GOOOOOD MORNING, TAZMILY!” the radio alarm crackled in at 8 am sharp, crepuscular rays smashing their way through the sheet hanging over the window. “It’s looking to be another beauuuuuuutiful day! Remember the Tribunate’s announcement the other day that production has far exceeded expectations for the first year of Reconstruction, so we hope you enjoy the extended vacation! What’s better than not having to work for the next eight months? Go out there and enjoy nature! Remember that all residents now have free transit passes to the mountains, the beach, and Tanetane Island Nature Preserve, so don’t give us any excuses, you schmucks!”

A Lucia-shaped lump moved on the bed next to the radio. Soon after, a Lucia-shaped child emerged from the pile of blankets, completely disheveled. Her long blonde hair stuck in every which way like she’d had a bad date with Zeus. Her eyes were filled with crust, her mouth tasted like...well, death. She blinked twice. _Okay, Luci, run boot prompt…_

She sat in bed for what felt like forever as time slowed down, her brain booting up. The walls were quiet this morning, and she hoped that they would stay that way; knowing her luck, that wasn’t likely, but she was gonna take it for now. These moments of solitude were few and far between. Speaking of solitude...where was Claus? His side of the bed was long empty, blanket neatly folded. Usually he’d come wake her up at this point, but she couldn’t even _hear_ him anywhere in the house. Hackles were raised. Something was wrong.

She got ready for the day how she had done since peacetime, first taking off creamsicle-orange kitty pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror. Mixolydia’s magic water was doing great things to her body a few months in, but twinges of dissatisfaction still panged, still hearing the reactions of others when she revealed who she’d once been, which had ranged from tepid support to outright hostility. It appeared that helping overthrow the invader, leading the Cleansing and Revolution, and setting the stage for Reconstruction didn’t protect her from hateful comments. She’d been called ‘sick’, ‘deformed’, ‘ill’, ‘insane’, ‘broken’, ‘should be locked up’. Revolution may have gotten rid of Porky and Fassad’s capitalism, but there was still a lot of progress to be made. She sighed. _So it goes, I guess,_ she muttered to herself as she brushed out her hair, layering it with spray-on shampoo. Bra, panties, skirt, seifuku top, kitty hair clip, socks.

 _Ah,_ she thought. _That’s better._

“Hey, uh, do any of you know where Claus went?” she asked when she saw Kumatora and Duster downstairs.

“Oh, man, he _woke up_ pissed, got his shit on and stormed out about two hours ago. So no, I don’t know where he went, but I--”

Lucia threw her shoes on and ran out of the house. Kumatora sighed. “I don’t know why I even try,” she said as she threw the TV back on.

* * *

She knew her brother better than he thought she did. When he always felt sentimental in any sort of way, or angry, or otherwise what he deemed "irrational”, there was only one place he ever went. She took his bike and pedalled with all of her might. The installation of bike paths through the Sunshine Forest made getting to Oriander Plateau exponentially easier than the hike that trip used to be.

The moldering ruins of their grandfather’s house were gone, now a small memorial to those whose lives were lost during the Revolution. A couple of benches, a patch of flowers. Sitting on the edge of the plateau, legs hanging over the edge, was her brother. She chained the bike to one of the benches, and started walking towards him. He turned his head slightly, just enough to see her out of the corner of his bionic eye.

“You never could leave well enough alone.”

She stopped walking.

“What made you think that if I’m wanting to be alone, it’s _you_ I want to see?”

“Claus…”

“Did you consider that you’re the reason I want to be alone right now?”

“And what reason would I have to think that?”

Claus scoffed. “God, you’re so self-centered. ‘What reason would I have to think that’? As if you don’t know.”

“I legitimately don’t.”

“The answer is simple, really.” He turned back towards the vantage. “You stole my brother from me.”

Lucia went from protective mode into the standby-to-attack position. “Now, Claus…” she said, walking nearer to him.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU SCHIZO FREAK!” he bellowed. “You don’t deserve to even _look_ at me, I should report you to my protocol officer at _once_ \--”

“‘Schizo freak’?” she said dangerously. “ _’Protocol officer’!? "_

“My brother didn’t hear shit in the walls! My brother didn’t talk in his sleep! My brother didn’t spend hours a day talking to other people who weren’t there and mumbling about something called the Parking Lot! My brother didn’t wake up crying in the middle of the night about monsters that aren’t there! And most of all, my brother wasn’t crossdressing and pretending to be a girl!”

“Crossdressing? You really think I’m doing this for _fun?_ This is who I _am_ , Claus! This is me now!”

“Fine, Lucas,” he spat.

“So that’s the game we’re playing, eh?” Lucia said quietly, feeling her emotional magma chamber heat up. The tips of her fingers prickled with dangerous energy. She was like an M-80. Once the fuse was lit, there was very little stopping it. “Then why don’t you stop hiding, you animal? If that’s what you want to do, then let’s dance! Come on, you coward!” They circled each other, like lions about to rip each other apart. Claus, for a flash, seemed to realize the direction this was heading, and hesitated. Lucia took advantage of this.

“PK Love Alpha!” she shouted, aiming it right at his chest.

“PK PSI Shield Omega!” Claus countered quickly, the Love spell exploding against his shield. The shield held, but the shock of the explosion knocked him about five feet backwards. This didn’t do anything but make him even angrier. “An animal, am I? Who attacked first?”

“PK Love Alpha!” she said again, this time catching him off guard, hitting him in the face. For the first time, he thanked Andonuts for the healing system he’d installed. That hit could’ve killed him. His arm morphed into a gun, and he fired two rockets in her direction.

“PK Shield Omega!” she said, the rockets hitting the shield, destroying it and sending her careening towards the cliff edge.

“GIMME MY BROTHER BACK!” he yelled as he unleashed “PK Offense Down Alpha!” It smacked her square on the arm.

“Offense Down?” Lucia growled, marching closer to him, her eyes aflame. “I’ll show you offense down!” She lunged, grabbing him by the jacket, and slamming him to the ground. Claus rolled, dodged her attack, and started another spell. “PK Love Alpha!” This one hit her directly, knocking her down, leaving her with her wind knocked out and gasping for air. “PK FLASH!” It bounced harmlessly off of him. She gritted her teeth. _You’ve got to be kidding me._ “YOUR BROTHER IS DEAD!” she yelled, “AND I KILLED HIM! PK PARALYSIS ALPHA!”

Claus froze, dropping to the ground like a bag of cement. She tackled him and landed blow after blow on his face. He could do nothing but look at the face of his sister, absolutely contorted in sheer rage, on top of him, bringing up each fist and watching her get angrier and angrier as they bounced off his face without doing so much as a scratch. Eventually, the anger subsumed into tears, her screams of fury becoming tortured, like she’d watch someone die and PK Lifeup wasn’t helping them anymore. She brought up her fist for another blow, then said:

“PK Healing Alpha.”

Claus felt the shackles disappear, and Lucia collapsed to the ground in a fit of tears, curled into the fetal position, covering her face with her hands. She looked at him through the gaps in her fingers, and said quietly, “PK Lifeup Gamma.”

He stood up slowly, and looked down at the crying, trembling blonde mass on the ground. She’d given into her base instinct to heal, not hurt. She was prone. And vulnerable.

 _Kill her, while you have the chance,_ said a small, familiar voice. _She’s yours for the taking. Kill her, and be rid of the cancer in your life. Kill her, and you can finally rest in peace. That’s all you’ve wanted, isn’t it?_

And then he understood Lucia’s suffering.

 _No, it isn’t,_ he told the voice. _I’ve taken enough lives. I’ve hurt enough people._

The voice sneered. _Coward._

_Computer, isolate the source and exterminate it._

The voice fell silent. The world became less noisy. Well, except for Lucia, who was now sucking her thumb in between sobs.

“Need...mommy,” she murmured. “Need...teddy.”

“Oh, Luci,” he said, kneeling, guilt coursing through his system like coolant as he picked her up. She flinched at his touch, and the guilt worsened. He was the reason she was this way. He picked her up anyway, and rocked her, holding her close. Slowly, the crying faded out, and Lucia looked up at the kind face of her brother. He gave her a nervous, toothy grin.

“Claus,” she said quietly. “We...we could’ve killed each other.”

“We almost did. That was...that was really scary.”

“I’m so sorry for attacking you.”

“I deserved it. I said some really hateful shit. I’m really sorry, Luci. I know that’s not gonna cut it, but…” He flopped onto his back, and she did the same.

“Hey, Claus, remember when we used to lay in this exact spot and watch the clouds?”

“Heh, yeah,” he said. Even though those days felt lifetimes ago, he could still remember.

“Listen...there’s some stuff you should know about what happened after you...left.”

“Yeah?”

She paused for a minute, collecting herself. “Dad...disappeared.”

She sensed him enter a protective state. “What do you mean, _disappeared_?”

“He...went off to look for you and left me...to fend...for myself…”

“But he returned, right?”

She didn’t respond.

“Right, Luci?”

“No. He didn’t. His intervention during the Final Needle debacle was the first time I’d seen him in three years.”

Claus was very quiet for a moment before responding with, “Fucking scumbag. We don’t need him. He’s not family.”

“And...we landed on this island…” She told him about Tanetane. He listened very patiently.

“So, the voices you hear...they’re from there?”

“Some are. Some are...of unknown origin.”

“I can sympathize. I heard a voice telling me to kill you. I think it was Porky.” Even saying the name felt blasphemous.

“I really am a freak,” she said forlornly.

“Hey, so am I,” he said. “Let’s be freaks together.” She smiled a little.

“You’ll always have me, Claus. Always.”

“I’ll try to remember that. It’s hard, some days. As you can, um, see.”

“Yeah.”

“You wanna just veg out here for a bit?”

“Yeah.”

And they whiled away the morning talking about feelings, their experiences, their trauma.

Claus felt safe. And that truly is what was important.


End file.
